


Night Witch

by Sixylicious



Series: To Defy Destiny [4]
Category: Elder Scrolls Online, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, College of Winterhold Questline, Gen, Non-Graphic Violence, Psijic Order, References to ESO Summerset
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:42:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22132735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sixylicious/pseuds/Sixylicious
Summary: The Listener seeks out a contact at the College of Winterhold to be tutored in magic, only to find a woman far stranger than she appears.Velia, once called Vestige, has existed far too long to want to deal with petty squabbles. She just wants to work in peace. Until Ancano decides he's going to destroy the world before she accomplishes her plans...In the background, Nocturnal watches the strings of fate draw tighter as the Prophecy of the Last Dragonborn approaches.(Knowledge of ESO not required!)
Series: To Defy Destiny [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/339697
Kudos: 9





	Night Witch

**Author's Note:**

> This is a rewritten and significantly expanded work from a few years back, as Velia's undergone a lot of changes since I first wrote her into this universe. If you're interested in how Velia ended up like this, you can read Fallen Psijic.

Khati slipped through the trapdoor into the Midden, closing it behind him without a sound. Being admitted to the College had been trouble enough, now where down here was this teacher Festus had recommended? Festus was a terrible teacher and there was only so much magic Khati could teach himself. He rounded a corner, pausing when he saw a pale, almost silver skinned woman leaning against a wall below him, dressed in robes of black and purple.

"Oh?" she remarked. "Hello there. You must be new to the College. It's not often I get visitors from mere apprentices." She straightened and approached him, robes swishing around her feet as she appeared almost to glide across the stone floors. "Tell me then, who are you?"

"My name is Khati," he answered, inclining his head a bit. "You must be Velia. A mutual friend sent me."

"Do tell."

Khati chuckled. "A cranky old man named Festus."

"Ah, you're Astrid's newest Brother then?" Velia asked. "Festus sent word that you would be seeking me out. What do you wish to know? My official specialties are Conjuration and Daedric magic, but I'm the most widely studied mage here."

Khati's eyes lit up, causing Velia to grin. She did love an eager student. "Anything you can teach me," he said. "Everything. I know mostly destruction magic. I’m best with fire but I'd like to improve in all three elements. I know some necromancy but I want to improve. Better healing spells would be useful. Illusion magic. Anything."

"I can do that," Velia replied. "And I assume you don't mind holding lessons down here, being that you're Family."

Khati laughed and shook his head. "Not at all. I feel more at home down here than I do in the regular College."

Velia smiled, her eyes seeming almost purple in the dim light. "Then let's begin."

***

There was something strange about Velia, that was for sure. From her Daedric aura to her silver-purple eyes, to the spells she knew, spells that hadn’t been taught or used in centuries. She spoke of her travels, of far-flung places like the Summerset Isles, of planes of Oblivion Khati knew of but had never seen or visited. She admitted to having studied among the Psijics, of all the organizations, and they hadn’t been seen in Tamriel since the Oblivion Crisis.

“How old are you?” Khati asked her one day.

Velia merely smiled. “Old enough.”

She taught him how to levitate, how to conjure portals, how to conjure a sword or a bow and arrows from thin air. He learned how to wreath himself in flames, how to summon scamps and banekin, how to raise dead stronger than simple animals.

“I have a test for you,” she said one day. “You are aware of the artifact upstairs they’re calling the Eye of Magnus?”

Khati raised a brow, his tail flicking behind him. “I am.”

“The only relevant books in the Arcanaeum were stolen recently by a former apprentice, who ran off with some coven of necromancers who flouted Savos’ rules. They’re holed up in a place called Fellglow Keep. I’d like you to help me retrieve them.”

“You’ll come?”

“Of course,” she laughed. “I haven’t left the College in awhile. While I know you’re capable, I wouldn’t send you against an entire fort of necromancers on your own. Sithis and Ur-dra would strike me down if I placed their son in such danger.”

“When do we leave?”

“Tonight.”

***

Fellglow Keep was a typical Imperial fort; old, neglected, and now home to a coven of necromancers. Velia conjured strange humanoid female daedra to fight off the two mages and the atronach that were guarding the outside. Not dremora, not xivilai, not any of the humanoid daedra that Khati knew of, so what were they? She didn’t answer when he asked, instead pushing them further through the fort. It took every spell in his newfound arsenal to keep up with her. She was a whirlwind of purple magic that never seemed to run dry; the daedra she called a clannfear darting ahead to attack foes while she cast spells from behind. It was easy enough to help the clannfear kill things with a combination of newly learned spells and his trusty ebony blades.

It was in the middle of the dungeons where they found an Altmer wearing College robes that were now stained and dirty. Velia gave the man a withering look.

“Orthorn.”

“...Night Witch. Did the Arch-Mage send you?”

Velia merely laughed. “For you? No. For the books you stole.”

“What are you going to do with me?”

“That depends on how useful you make yourself. Khati, let him out.”

Khati did so, examining the levers until he determined which one was the correct one and then pulling it. Orthorn stumbled out of the cage a moment later and collapsed at Velia’s feet.

“Such a pity. You had potential, Orthorn, but now you’ve squandered Savos’ goodwill. A coven of necromancers? Practicing necromancy requires discretion and that’s something you simply don’t have.”

“Of course you’re a necromancer too.”

Velia shook her head and sighed. “I learned necromancy in the prisons of Coldharbour during the reign of the King of Worms. Unlike most, I simply know how to hide my so-called indiscretions.”

“I don’t know why the Arch-Mage lets you stay. You and your strange magic are half the reason the Nords don’t trust us.”

“Savos lets me stay because he knows what I’m capable of and trusts that I’ll use my power to protect the College. Besides, Nords don’t trust anything they can’t explain with Talos. Fools, all of them, whether Imperial or Stormcloak. Most of you Altmer aren’t any better, Thalmor or not. Now tell us where the books are.”

“They’re with the leader of the coven. She calls herself the Caller. She was going to use me as a test subject.”

“Of course she was.” Khati snorted. “Necromancers do that.”

“Have you ever seen a flesh atronach, Orthorn?” Velia asked. She gestured for Khati to drag the Altmer along behind them. “Grotesque creations, cobbled together with bits of flesh and limbs from many unfortunate subjects. You don’t see them often anymore. Just another of Mannimarco’s creations that have been lost to time. Forget raising skeletons, you couldn’t call yourself a necromancer if you hadn’t made one.”

“You haven’t taught me that,” Khati joked.

She laughed, dark and amused. “You never asked.”

Orthorn grew pale at her words and grew even paler as Khati and Velia slaughtered their way through the rest of the keep until they reached the ritual chamber. Khati casually looted bodies as they went while Velia soul trapped as many of the coven as she had empty soul gems.

Velia flung the doors open with a blast of magic, causing the Caller to look up from her podium and the spell she was preparing.

“We’re here for the books this idiot took from the College,” Velia said. “You can give them to us or you can die and we’ll take them from your corpse.”

The Caller gave them a disdainful look. “So violent. You expect me to cooperate after you slew all my apprentices? You’ve annoyed me, so I don’t think I’ll be giving you anything.”

“The hard way it is then.” Velia looked to Khati. “Kill her.”

“With pleasure.”

The Caller died choking on her own blood. Khati disposed of Orthorn by a blade to the gut as Velia gathered the books and looted the room of valuables. She then opened a portal and beckoned him through it back to the College.

***

This hadn’t been what she expected when Savos had summoned her… The Arch-Mage, Ancano, and an Altmer in Psijic robes who promptly froze time so they could speak. “Quaranir.”

The Psijic sighed. “Fallen One. I didn’t expect to find you in a place like this. The Ritemaster sent me to give you a message.”

Velia scoffed. “So now Valsirenn reaches out? What does she need from me that the Conclave can’t accomplish on its own? I haven’t heard from the Order since Tiber Septim walked Tamriel as a mortal.”

“I was sent to warn you about the Eye of Magnus. Your Thalmor advisor seeks to misuse its power.”

“You came all the way from Artaeum to tell me something I already knew? Of course he seeks to misuse it. These Thalmor seek to undo reality itself.”

“I see your reputation for knowledge is well deserved.” Quaranir nodded. “If you know what you are dealing with, you need only to know that we are watching.”

“Watch all you wish, you will not change my actions.”

“You’re as stubborn as she said you would be. No wonder you rejected Artaeum.”

“Is that what they’re teaching you now? That I rejected the Old Ways? I was thrown out of the Order. Valsirenn unattuned me from the wards herself.”

Quaranir narrowed his eyes. “The way the Conclave tells it, you were exiled after your bargain came to light.”

“How can something be a bargain if one of the parties is tricked?”

He wouldn’t answer. Velia sighed, her eyes seeming to glow purple. Quaranir took a step back, calling a half-raised ward to his hand before she dispelled it with a wave.

“Valsirenn knows what I seek. That has never changed. If the Conclave won’t help me and you don’t have any other information about the Eye of Magnus, we have nothing else to talk about.”

Quaranir frowned but nodded.“You’ll need the Staff of Magnus to avert what is coming. Look to Labyrinthian to find it.”

Velia watched as he released the spell and pretended he didn’t know exactly who she was. Quaranir slipped out of the Arch-Mage’s quarters, Ancano stormed after him, and she and Savos watched them both.

“He spoke to you, didn’t he?”

“He did.”

“May I ask what about?”

“The Eye of Magnus.” Velia sighed. “And Ancano.”

Savos gave a single nod. “You have my leave to deal with him as necessary to ensure our survival.”

“Of course.”

***

“So what next?” Khati asked from his perch beside the Atronach Forge, his tail flicking behind him. “Can’t we just kill Ancano and be done with it? Skyrim will be better off without him.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get to kill him. I won’t deprive you of that.” Velia let out a dark laugh. “But we have to deal with the Eye first, and to do that we’ll need another relic.”

He rolled his eyes. “Which means tomb delving, I’m sure. This is Skyrim, everything important is in tombs.”

She didn’t respond to the joke. “We seek the Staff of Magnus. It rests in Labyrinthian.”

Khati swore under his breath. “I’ve heard of that place… Ancient Dragon Cult site?”

“Yes.”

“When do we leave?”

“Whenever you’re ready. I should warn you, there’s a Dragon Priest entombed there.”

That got him to grin. “I’ve never killed one of those before. You take me to the most interesting places for lessons.”

“I’ll remember you said that when you inevitably change your mind.”

***

“Morokei,” Velia said as they peered around the corner into the innermost sanctum. “It means glorious in dragon language. Savos tangled with him once.”

“I gathered that from all the ghosts,” Khati muttered. “You have a plan?”

“I’ll concentrate on lightning spells to drain his magicka. You engage in close range. Let my summons distract him so you can attack from behind. If he turns them, I can summon more.” She opened her satchel and passed him an ornate potion. “Drink this for shock resistance. Savos said that’s what he mostly uses.”

Khati downed the potion and handed the empty vial back. “I can do that.”

“And try not to die.”

“I don’t plan on dying here.”

She let out a laugh. “Neither do I.”

Velia killed the two enthralled mages with a chain lightning spell, releasing the dragon priest from his cage. Morokei let out a rumbling laugh and raised the Staff of Magnus as Velia cast a ward over them both, then followed it up by conjuring three winged daedra; winged twilights, she called them. Each winged twilight began to cast lightning at the dragon priest while Velia maintained the ward.

Khati pulled the shadows around him and drew his swords, sneaking around to get closer to where Morokei hovered. With the dragon priest distracted, it was easy enough to stab him in the back over and over until he dissolved into a pile of ash.

Velia dismissed the winged twilights as she approached, Khati handing her both the dragon priest’s mask and the Staff of Magnus. “Good. Loot whatever you want and then we’ll leave. Ancano will have noticed our absence.”

“He’s feeling threatened, isn’t he?”

“Undoubtedly. He knows what I am and anyone with knowledge of magic can tell you’re touched by Sithis. Ancano knows his days are numbered.”

Khati raised a brow. “What you are? Not who you are?”

She smiled, her eyes gleaming purple in the dim lights of Morokei’s sanctum. “Both, then.”

“Are you ever going to get any less cryptic?”

“Someday, when the time is right for you to know.”

“If you insist.”

***

“Sithis help us, he’s going to destroy the whole place.” Khati swore. The College was surrounded in a ward, swirling light of white and blue hiding the ancient structure from view. Most of the faculty were in the streets of Winterhold, spells being slung through the air as strange wisps that radiated power swarmed the town.

“Ancano’s made his move, I see… Stay outside, help protect the townspeople.”

“And let you head in there alone? Sithis, no.”

Velia leveled him with a stern look, the purple in her eyes expanding as her aura did. “You cannot serve your Family if Ancano kills you here. Ur-dra and the staff will protect me. I must face Ancano alone.”

Before he could say anything else, she unhooked the Staff of Magnus from the holster on her back and headed straight for the bridge. Khati grumbled a few curses and went to join the fight against the magic anomalies outside. The ward was no match for the Staff of Magnus and the aura Velia let radiate from her in wisps of darkness. Soon enough she was across the bridge and flinging the door to the Hall of Elements open.

"So you've come for me, Night Witch?” Ancano called, his voice tinged with mania. “You think I don't know what you're up to? You think I can't destroy you? The power to unmake the world at my fingertips, and you think you can do anything about it?"

“Oh Ancano, you fool…” Velia aimed the Staff of Magnus at the Eye and began to cast. “You can’t destroy me. Ur-dra will ensure my survival and the Staff will ensure your destruction.”

“I am beyond your pathetic attempts at magic! Your patron can’t protect you from this.” Ancano snarled. “I know exactly who and what you are.”

He cast something at her, but at a burst of purple energy from her free hand his spell simply vanished.

“You know who I am but you know nothing about me.” The beam of magic from the Staff remained constant. “We learned from our mistakes all those years ago. The world will not be unraveled by the likes of you.”

Ancano threw spells at her with the desperation of a cornered rat. Velia continued to cast, unflinching, as the Eye slowly began to close. 

_Snap._ Ancano let out a shriek as his connection to the Eye was severed. The clannfear was on top of him a moment later, pinning him to the stone floors as Velia approached with the Staff of Magnus in hand.

“Going to kill me, Night Witch?” Ancano gasped. She could hear footsteps running in now that the ward was down. “Let them watch and see you as you truly are? You’re an abomination… kill me and others will come for you.”

Velia said nothing, her gaze hard, as she watched her clannfear tear out Ancano’s throat.

***

"You can't make that _thing_ the Arch-Mage!" Nirya protested. "She isn't even mortal and we all know it."

Tolfdir's response was cut off by Velia lifting a hand and raising Nirya off the ground with a glowing hand formed of purple magic gripping her by the throat.

"What I am is of no consequence," she murmured, gaze as hard as ebony. "Savos, Azura guide his soul, named me as his successor long before he died. I have been trusted faculty here since the turn of the Era. If you do not respect our departed Arch-Mage's choice, feel free to ask Quaranir for his."

She released the magic and Nirya dropped back to the ground, gasping for breath.

"My loyalty lies here. You all know this. When you've made your decision, seek me out in Savos' quarters. I'll be upstairs paying my respects."

***

Khati had the trapdoor to the Midden halfway open when Faralda stopped him and told him Velia was Arch-Mage now. He shrugged, closed the trapdoor, and followed her up the stairs. When Savos was Arch-Mage, he’d never been permitted into the Arch-Mage’s quarters, but apparently Velia had already begun to change things. He found her bent over the enchanting table, her hands glowing with purple magic as she worked a spell into a staff.

“A little bird tells me you’re the Arch-Mage now,” he said to announce himself, letting out a soft laugh. “Quite the promotion from living in the Midden to up here.”

“It is,” Velia agreed. She let the magic fade from her hands and straightened. “I expected a lot of things to result from Ancano’s attempt to misuse the Eye, but having Quaranir come and declare me Arch-Mage… It may have been what Savos wanted, but I never thought they would go through with it.”

“Quaranir? That’s not a name I’ve heard here.”

“A Psijic. The Conclave sent him to advise me on how to handle the Eye.” She shrugged. “Not that I needed the help. My mistress provides.”

“You ever going to tell me who that is?”

Her eyes gleamed almost purple again and for a moment Khati felt an immense Daedric power around them-- but then it was gone. Velia’s eyes were their strange shade of silver once more and the air was calm.

“When it’s time, you’ll know.”


End file.
